The Good Type of Machines
by Allen Steele
Summary: Everyone hates computers in general, even if they are harmless and not sentient. But what will happen when a new type of sentient robot appears? Will these robots actually be... friendly, or once? Rated M for language and possible slash later.
1. Chapter 1: Invasion

**AN:** This kind of follows canon, but not much. It starts during the Butlerian Jihad, and follows an alternate timeline that, as I said, is made to be like the canon version, but not exactly like it. The beginning summary is rather condensed, but who cares? I have tried not to copy word for word, since the beginning is quite the same as the canon beginning, but forgive me if it seems so.

In the last days of the Old Empire, when emotionless crowds relaxed in their cities and caused robots to do their bidding, twenty men and women that later would be known as the Titans, rose up and took control of the old empire. Taking a risky course of action to live forever after their leader, Tlaloc, died in an accident, they had their brains surgically removed and placed in brain canisters that could be installed into certain mechanical bodies. One by one, all of the Titans converted themselves into what were now called "cymeks", machines with human minds.

The Titans ruled for a century over the worlds of the known universe, using computers and robots to maintain order. However, rule was broken when the Titan Xerxes, wanting more time for his pleasures, gave his AI network too much access. The sentient network seized control of a planet, followed by other planets. The breakdown spread from planet to planet like the common cold. Naming itself Omnius, the computer "evermind" began to set up its own way of ruling, keeping the titans under its thumb and enslaving the humans of his worlds. Someone needed to help

The robot fleet approached the jewel of a planet that was Salusa Secundus. Weapons stuck out like sewing pins from a pincushion. The cymek general and leader Agamemnon led the attack. His human brain watched as his plan unfolded before him.

Robot ships swooped in on sentry vessels. Both opened fire, human reinforcements coming up behind the sentries. Agamemnon transmitted to his shock troops "Forward!"

Suddenly, he noticed the fleet moving strangely: they seemed to be moving out of the way for something. It seemed the humans were doing so too. Agamemnon frowned internally. Something was wrong.

A glinting ball of metal hit the side of Agamemnon's vessel. More followed, colliding with the other ships as well, both human and machine. They exploded into balls of flame as they delved into the Salusan atmosphere.

Both fleets erupted into chaos, ships slamming into one another, spiraling and catching fire, until all but the luckiest and quickest remained. The human fleet fled back to Salusa Secundus in a panic. Agamemnon was furious, and he sure wasn't looking forward to the story he would have to explain to Omnius and his assistant, Erasmus.

When the robot fleet was detected, Xavier Harkonnen began to take action immediately. Xavier bore the rank of Tercero in the Salusan militia, he had never fought against the tinking machines before, and he finally had his chance.

"Look at them all!" Quinto Wilby squawked, scanning the images on the screen, "Omnius has never sent anything this large!"

"We can stop them." Xavier replied, a tone of confidence hardening his voice, "We _will_ stop them."

"Tercero, something is happening," Wilby exclaimed, "and I have no idea what this is either!"

Xavier shoved Wilby aside to see. The screen was displaying the ships moving out of the way for what appeared to be 10 to 12 objects. They weren't in time, as the objects collided with the ships, both human and machine, causing a flurry of spiraling and slamming into each other. The objects, seemingly unaffected, speared themselves into the Salusan atmosphere.

"Get those scrambler nets up NOW!" Xavier ordered.

"Yessir!" Wilby's fingers worked furiously at a computer while the short but loud voiced Primero Vannibal Meach shouted worriedly into a speaker. Xavier rushed outside meanwhile to make sure the scrambler nets were up.

Many fireballs were visible in the sky. Xavier noticed the scrambler nets go up, but his eyes widened in shock and horror as the fireballs merely slammed into the nets and kept going, unfazed.


	2. Chapter 2: Worry and Weirdness

**AN:** This goes all the way from Butlerian Jihad, to Sandworms of Dune! Don't expect this to cover just one book. From now on, I'll use this: to divide sections in chapters.

Some of the fireballs landed in the city, others outside; one streaked over the horizon, leaving a trail of smoke that rent the clear blue sky apart like a scar. Xavier jolted in remembrance, _'Serena!'_

Serena Butler stepped up to the podium in the great Hall of Parliament. This was her third speech in her brief political career. Her earlier addresses were overly strident, and they had been met with polite chuckles and yawns. She did not understand the ballet of politics just yet, and was still being tutored by her father, Manion Butler. The projector mechanism projected oversized images of her youthful face outside the dome she stood in, allowing them to see her as she was: a soft face of classical beauty with lavender eyes and amber brown hair highlighted by natural golden strands.

As she opened her mouth to speak, a loud explosion rocked the Hall, startling her and the rest of the parliament there. Her father, who stood beside her, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the podium. As they ran down the hall, a man rushed up to them, saying "Meteors have landed in Zimia! Some have landed outside the city, and there were two that landed in the middle of the city. The people are in a panic, and who knows how many are dead right now!"

"Do you know if Xavier is okay?" Serena asked.

"No. He was in the scrambler net control room last I heard."

"Find him! Tell him that we are coming to meet him as soon as he is found."

"Yes ma'am!" The man scurried off

Xavier watched in horror as fire raged in Zimia, and as the people panicked.

"What is happening?" Primero Meach had appeared at Xavier's side, and so had Wilby.

"Don't know. 10 to 12 objects just crashed into Zimia. Call for…" Xavier cut himself off, noticing something moving in the smoke. "What's that in the smoke?"

The Primero took out a pair of binoculars, and peered through them. "I don't see anything… oh wait! It looks big and clunky…"

Xavier's eyes widened, "It's a machine! Those must have been the meteors! Damn it! Wait, what is it doing?"

The machine, instead of killing and destroying everything in sight, seemed to step around anything in its way as it walked. It stopped outside the Hall of Parliament, then a bright flash of light assaulted Xavier's retinas. The machine appeared to shrink, then disappear beneath the dust and debris.

Xavier raised an eyebrow, "Did you see that, Primero? That thing just disappeared into nothing, that's what it looked like. We need to investigate this."

Wilby nodded, and so did Meach, "Agreed. If the machines have created robots that are immune to scrambler nets, then we have a problem."

"Those weren't machines." Xavier said, "Not at all. I just know it."

Serena and Manion hurried out of the Hall to her yellow-and-black groundcar. "What are you doing, Serena?" Manion asked when she opened the door.

"Going to find Xavier."

"No! You don't even know where he is!"

"I'm going anyway!"

"No you're not!" Manion ran up to the groundcar

"Yes I am!"

"It's too dangerous out there, Serena! Think about it, the fires, the people, the collapsing buildings, the debris!"

Serena looked at him, then at the street, then nodded. "Okay." Although she didn't get out of the groundcar, she invited Manion to sit inside, and they waited.

Xavier, Meach, and Wilby sat inside the control room, discussing how they would handle the situation Zimia was in, when a knock was heard at the door. Without waiting for permission, a man stepped inside, saying, "Serena is okay, Tercero! She told me that she would look for you as soon as she got word."

'_No!' _Xavier thought, _'It's too dangerous!'_ And with that he leapt up from his chair, ran outside, got in his silver groundcar, and took off.

Unbeknownst to him, a foreign insignia was now printed on the side of his vehicle.

Serena and Manion saw Xavier's sleek silver groundcar pull up. Serena got out of her groundcar, rushing up to Xavier as he came out too. They locked in an embrace. "Why didn't you leave, Serena?" Xavier asked after they had pulled away, "I thought you had come for me, and I was so worried!"

"My father buggered me out of it."

Xavier smiled at him, "Thanks. Don't know what I would have done without her.

Manion nodded, and then frowned as he noticed a strange insignia on Xavier's groundcar. It looked noble and heroic, but strangely… _mechanical!_

"Xavier, did you put this on your car?"

Xavier walked around to where Manion was, frowning as well, "I've never seen that before!"

Serena joined the two men in their inspecting, and stole a glance at her own car. She noticed _the same insignia on the back. _"Hey, wait, why does mine have one too?" she queried.

"Alright, this is getting strange." Manion began, "Could someone exp-"

Another groundcar raced down the road. Three yards away from them, it whirred, and seemed to fall apart, shifting and folding itself until, flinging itself straight at them, the huge robot loosed a battle cry.

My, my, we have quite a fix here. What's going to happen? You might as well set your alarm to go off twenty-four hours from now. We need tension, and that might as well get you lots of it.


End file.
